Black and White: The Tale of Two Blondes
by Cool Rock
Summary: Naruto is lost to the desert winds on a mission and is found barely alive by Suna ninja. On his way home one if his guards is Temari. Wonder what happens next? After wave arc. NaruTema and other pairings. Good-ish Sasuke.
1. How it Begins

**A/N : Its been a minute since I've written anything but I suddenly remembered this whole thing existed. So based on my readings I came to the conclusion there is not enough NaruTema fan fiction so I took it into my own hands. That being said if this is your kinda thing I put some of my favorite stories in this group at the bottom and I would highly recommend reading them. Alright well lets roll.**

 **I don't own** **Naruto**

For all the great examples of figurative speech quite a few fall flat. For example if I had _my_ cake, why can't Ieat it too? That isn't fair. It's my cake. I'll do what I want with _my_ cake.

Thats how I see it. Or I would, if had any cake. Unfortunately there is no cake here, only sand, sand, and even more sand. Wait what is that? That doesnt look like sand. Way to... orange to be sand. Hey wait that looks like... a person. No, what was I thinking. A person? All the way out here? Yeah right.

But it was a person. Well a few people actually, and technically speaking but also unknown to most a giant fox monster but that isn't important. What is important, however, is the aforementioned group of people. They appeared to be getting closer very quickly.

Yes, the group seemed to be moving _very_ quickly. And for everyone in the village that was good news. That meant the ninja the hired were finally here. But these weren't Suna nin, in fact by the looks of things this little group was from Konoha.

'Oh well,' thought the village leader ,'I had heard of the Daiymo outsourcing a good number of jobs to the Leaf. I should go and greet them.'

He stood at the edge of the village waiting for the foreign ninja to arrive. Unfortunately for his ears, the openness of the desert allows the winds to carry sound very well. Not like the orange clad catastrophe needed its aid.

The old man stood tall as he listened to the fool speak.

"Say Sasuke are you looking forward to the exotic women of Suna or are guys more your thing?"

Old as he was the man could enjoy a good joke and it only grew harder to avoid laughing when said joke's owner flew the rest of the distance to the village courtesy of a fist from the same joke's target.

Once the 'Orange Idiot' as the young kunoichi of the group called him recovered the rest of the team reached the man they presumed to be the mayor of the small desert town. No sooner than they arrived the oldest stepped forward to exchange words. Though the older man's words came forth first.

"Hello there travellers what brings you here on such a nice day?" It was obvious why they were here in his mind but he had to make sure.

"We are here on the request of your country's Daiymo to rid you of your bandit problem. My name is Kakashi and these are my students." This last sentence was accompanied by a sweep of the masked man's arm towards the three younger ninja.

As the old man scanned the three in question they spoke up.

"Hi I'm Sakura." Simple but to the point.

"Name's Sasuke" Borderline rude and but yet it was clear he meant no disrespect.

"And I'm Naruto Uzumaki. You'd better remember that name 'cause one day I'm gonna be the next Hokage." Well. that was certainly several decibels louder and much more enthusiastic than the other two but at least he was ambitious.

"Ah yes, we've been expecting you all. If you'll follow me I can show you where you'll be staying and answer any questions you have once we arrive."

As they were led to a nicely maintained inn they passed the results of several bandit raids. For example the nearly every house showed some level of damage from broken windows and kicked in doors to empty lots with large scorch marks left where housing once sat. Once they passed the cemetery they could see several fresh graves and quite a few new widows and orphans crying over them. The scene was grim, but the presence of ninja was certainly morale boosting.

Once they arrived at their reserved rooms they were given a quick briefing on the situation. Now was the time to gather information and piece together the puzzle.

"So then, uhh, sorry I still don't know your name." Kakashi said as scratched at the back of his neck and gave a nervous looking eye smile.

"No worries. You can call me Souchi."

"Alright then Mr. Souchi, what exactly is happening here?" Asked the cyclops.

Souchi gave a deep sigh and a sad smile as he prepared to give the one eyed ninja his answer. "Well that is a hard question to answer Kakashi but i suppose it began a few months ago. A town nearby was completely destroyed by a group of ex-samurai. However it seems that those lives weren't enough for the savages and they have now moved east onto us. Our village is the last stop before one reaches Sunagakure and our spring is very important, which means it is patroled by the local men. Mostly in order to keep it clean and prevent someone from bathing in our only water source." There was a short pause as Souchi collected his thoughts.

After gathering everything together and shaking his head he spoke again,"Unfortunately those patrols have stopped and we have been forced to collect the little rain water or pay high prices for our own right. The same ex-samurai have taken our spring and attacked our village ruthlessly. They have claimed several lives. And now we arrive at our current state. Hiring help from ninjas."

"I see," Kakashi said with a grunt of understanding ," That changes things then." This earned him a confused glare that he promptly shrugged off. "If you tell me where the spring is we can go there tomorrow and take care of the problem. I'll leave half of the team here to help the recovery and keep an eye on things too."

Souchi smiled brightly and nodded before drawing a quick map to the spring and standing. He shook Kakashi's hand and walked towards the door. He was about to leave when he remembered one last detail. He turned his head back and caught the lazy ninjas attention before he spoke.

"I've heard stories of their leader, Panko, that describe him as a very violent and strong man. Be careful with him, Kakashi."

They stood and held eye contact for a few seconds before Kakashi gave the old man a quick nod. Once Souchi was gone he readied himself for bed and read a few chapters from his newest book, _Icha_ _Icha: Forbidden Love_.

Tommorow was going to be a long day of kicking ass and forgetting names. Oh well, such is the life of a ninja.

 **A/N: Okay so that is the first chapter and I happen to be VERY tired. But O' dear reader I haven't forgotten my promise to you. If you enjoy Naruto and his fellow blonde Temari like I do and think I'm a bit too slow or my story isn't up to your standards I suggest to you** _Desert Flower_ **by** _NXSE_ **and/or** _A Song of Love and Politics_ **By** _Dragon199_ _0_ **you can thank me later.**

 **Anyways like I said I'm tired(I'm finishing this at 1:46 in the morning and it won't be up until probably noon because the few people that followed/favorited need to sleep so that their beautiful minds can stay sharp and attentive instead of testing my newest exploit in the early hours of the day.)it is time I retire to my bed. Until next time(probably tomorow at 1:46 am) good night and good morning.**


	2. Endings are just new Beginnings

**_A/N:_** **Alright so hope you're all doing good and feeling well. Shout out to** _KnightLawn_ **for being the first reviewer. Thanks for the support. Not sure what else to say so I'll see you guys at the end.**

 **I don't own Naruto**

As dawn breaks over the horizon three clearly sleepy children sat in front of the one-eyed ninja Kakashi. They were ready for the day's work they would receive. Although, one of them was a bit more excited than he should be at such an early hour.

A gentle breeze could carry a man's words far and wide. Fortunately for those who happened to be spread far and wide the air was still in the desert this morning. Still as it was the anxiety of the locals permeated it with their fear for the ninja's health in the battle to be.

As promised Kakashi was to split his force in half. The question was how? He himself would clearly be engaging the enemy but who would go with him? Definitely not Sakura, she isn't the best combatant anyways. He could take Naruto, the boy had an amazing talent for always coming out on top of every situation, but that would leave the moody 'genius' Sasuke alone with his biggest and arguably loudest fan girl. That would go very poorly. Unfortunately, the same went for Naruto's giant crush on Sakura.

Kakashi let out a sigh as he remembered how things once were. Back when his Genin team operated nearly the same as the one he now led. Rin after Kakashi, and Obito after her. Although Rin never sounded like a dying banshee...

"Alright that's enough you two." Kakashi said as he left the realm of his thoughts to find the two males of his team at each others throats. Once they were seated he continued," Sasuke, you and I are going to go to the spring where the bandits have established a base and deal with them. However, while we are gone there's no guarantee another raid won't be conducted so Naruto you and Sakura will stay. With your shadow clones I want ypu to patrol the outskirts and place a few on the rooftops. The rest of them I want to be helping the villagers rebuild. I know it isn't our job but we can still help them. Sakura while he does that i want you to stay near the real him and if they do attack try to keep them from causing too much damage."

With a solid nod followed by two slightly disappointed ones the group spilt and Naruto prepared his signature hand seal. Much to the civilians' confusion the orange blurs spread out near the edges of the town while an entire platoon of them walked towards the first construction site they found. Within an hour they were no longer needed and moved to the next. As you could imagine many men wished they could replicate that technique to work and many women wished for extra help with day to day activities.

XXXXXXXXX

With Kakashi

As the pair approached the spring they were not surprised when a trio of sword toting men appeared before them. They all wore clothing similar to that of Samurai from the land of Iron but their armor was sparse. The man on the far left having a chest plate while the one to the right only had the helmet. The man in the middle however had none. He was covered from the most part to protect himself from the sun but what showed of his skin was covered with tattoos and scars.

"Stop, not a step closer until you pay our toll," Said the tattooed middle man," Otherwise you should turn around and go home. This is not a welcoming place to those of the Leaf." He eyed the headband over Kakashi's eye at the mention of the pair's homeland but was otherwise indifferent.

Kakashi's one eye closed as if he was smiling and in the split second before it reopened he stood behind the three men. With very little effort he sent a kick to the head of the man with the chestplate. It connected and said man collapsed to the ground. His partners turned in his direction, the perfect distraction for Sasuke to strike. And strike he did, he threw three kunai at each of the remaining bandits tagging them in the chest and both arms. As they screamed in pain they were quickly silenced by two quick and powerful strikes to the jaw. The trio were unconscious but not dead so they were tied up and set aside for the suna team to collect later. The two Konoha ninja strolled forward to the spring.

Upon arrival they quickly disbatched the remaining bandits with ease. That was bad, very bad. That meant a raiding party was out. Both of them shared a nervous glare before sprinting back to the town.

XXXXXXXX

With Naruto

 _Poof!_

Memories flooded back to Naruto and he wasn't sure where from, only that an enemy approached. He stopped his march through town and stood thinking. Sakura noticed his uneasiness and her curiosity grew.

"What is it Naruto? Is something wrong?"

His blues eyes flew up to her green ones as his response poured out, " Huh? Oh, Yeah I don't know how I know so don't ask but there is a group of bandits approaching from the North."

Sakura stood and stared wide eyed at her blonde haired teammate. "Wait what? What do we do?"

Naruto gave her a deadpan stare as he spoke "We have to attack them in the desert before they get to the city. It's safe to say they knew we're here since they're coming from the north instead of directly south towards the spring.They must have camped out and watched Kakashi-sensei leave."

'Wow. That was actually smart thinking. Wait from Naruto? Is that even possible?'

Sakura's thoughts prevented her from seeing him take off towards the enemy and when her senses recovered she came to the conclusion that Kakashi and Sasuke should be nearly back and they could regroup to attack as soon as they arrived. She jumped off to the south side of the village as Naruto was speeding north.

As the blonde menace reached an acceptable distance from the town he stopped running and began thinking strategy. 'Kakashi and Sasuke should get back soon and since Sakura isn't here i guess she called that as well so I can fight on full blast and keep these guys occupied until reinforcements arrive.' It was settled then battle was imminent.

Naruto made a hundred clones and as they took position he prepared himself for battle. As he steeled his nerves he remember the mission to Wave country, he remembered Haku's words to him. 'I have to fight to protect my precious people and I think it's fair to say they'd protect me too.' He thought as watched the growing silhouettes.

Within minutes a force of thirty men stood before him, wielding swords and grinning at the thought of a fresh slaughter. When they stopped a man in full armor stepped forward and spoke.

"So, the Leaf brat wants to stop us, eh? Sorry child but we have business to see to so if you want to live get out of the way."

Naruto said nothing as he stood there and watched the proceedings.

The growing anger of the attackers was evident even when their faces couldn't be seen. As soon as one charged past his captain a hand reached up and pulled him into the sands. He yelled and kicked but he was buried neck deep and the pressure was squeezing his lungs. A muffled poof was heard as Naruto's clone dispersed, his job was done.

When eyes came off of their freshly buried comrade they were shocked to see several more hands reach up to them. out of the twenty eight soldiers that stood behind the armored captain only twelve escaped the clone's ambush. Unfortunately for them, those clones that didn't find the target sprung up to attack. As the battle slowly turned to Naruto's favor he stood where he had been the whole time staring at the leader.

"Well, boy it seems that you are stronger than I anticipated. Don't get a big head, though because now you fight me and I will not lose."

A devilish grin spread across Naruto's face as watched the battle behind the man end. Sixteen of his clones remained and all of the enemy troops were disabled. That meant more trouble for the one in charge.

"We'll see about that." came a voice from behind the samurai. He turned just in time to watch a Naruto clone slam its fist into his mask.

The force broke his nose nearly instantly but he could still fight. He threw off his now useless helmet and drew his sword.

Naruto's grin was still displayed as he charged forward. The punch from the one clone was enough distraction for the others to go back under the sand and prepare a jutsu he had just recently picked up.

Now all he had to do was keep this samurai busy. That shouldn't be too hard right? Oh well just keep punching. I'm sure it will work out eventually.

And sure enough as Naruto battered away at his opponent the man failed to notice the lack of his clones.

As soon as the first pop of a clone dispelling was heard Naruto stopped attacking and raised his hands above his head.

A large orb appeared above his hands and once it reached a diameter of around two feet Naruto slammed it into the ground as he roared the name for the world to hear. "Kyodai Chakura Bakudan!" The resulting explosion left a large crater on the battlefield and sent both of them flying off into the desert.

The armored Samurai lay in the sand unable to move as a shadow slipped over him. He felt a hand lay upon his shoulder before yanking him up by it. He faced three ninja. A cyclops, a girl, and an angry looking boy. He smiled as he spoke to them through his pain," You must be that blonde brat's teammates. And you must be his teacher. You've done well then he has the soul of a saint and the skills of a warrior. Now if you will excuse me my life has come to it's end. Goodbye ninjas, may we meet again in the next world."

And with a laugh as he coughed up blood and eventually lay without breath his story ended. Now it was time to find Naruto. The Orange Idiot of the Leaf was missing in the desert and that was never good. So for the rest of the day the trio combed the desert for their friend until night fell and they were forced to return to the inn.

XXXXXXXX

Itty Bitty time skip

As the sun rose the trio walked grimly out of the city and back towards their own village. It was assumed that Naruto was dead or dying and there was nothing they could do. The Suna teams sent to recover the Samurai would find him either way. So they headed home to make their report with heavy hearts.

Kakashi had made them leave. They wanted to search but the idea that Naruto was dead was scary enough to keep them from wandering. They might confirm their fears after all. It had been two days of searching for the blonde and not a scrap of orange had been seen.

Hope was the only option so on the long way home that was their shared feeling. And little did they know that their silent prayers were answered. Because that night as a Suna team was about to head home from collecting bodies they watched in awe and horror as one of them sat up and stretched. A yawn from this corpse of a man earned him a canteen shoved into his hands.

"I don't know who you are or what side you were on but to survive and be able to move with your injuries is amazing. Drink this we're almost to the gates and you can sleep and recover in the hospital."

A short affirmative nod came from the presumed dead man as he lifted the canteen to his lips and drank. Soon enough he was lying back on a real bed for the first time in days as a doctor checked him over. He was soon asleep with a smile plastered over his face and his head band lying on his chest.

In accordance with the Sand and Leaf alliance a message was sent to Konoha about the development and a guard was stationed in the room. A blonde guard, with a big fan. She looked over the body of the younger boy that lay in front of her as the moon illuminated him through the window. That warm smile shining through his dreams to light up the night.

Temari didn't really want to be here right now but orders were orders. And besides, at least he was easy on the eyes, at least compared to the men around here. 'Wow that was a weird thing to think but it isn't wrong either I suppose...'

Eventually Temari fell asleep at her post and the night blew by with no trouble.

 ** _A/N_ : Okay** **so thats chapter two. Don't be afraid to tell me how it was. Again thank you to** _KnightLawn_ **for leaving the first review and to those who favorited/followed the story you guys(and girls) are awesome. This chapter is longer than the last one and I'm happy about it so I've decided to map out the story and plan ahead.**

 **Like the summary said this after the wave arc. Yes part of it is me being lazy but I feel like there's only so many ways to do it and they've all been done. Too many people use it and its hard to come up with original results. I might reference it every now and then but unless I tell you otherwise it was exactly like it happened in Canon. Also yes the leader of the raid party was Panko but Naruto wouldn't have known. As far as I know the jutsu he used (** _Kyodai chakura bakudan or Giant Chakra Bomb_ **) is original to me and it's basically just elemental chakra gathered into a ball then released violently. He doesn't know it has to be elemntal chakra but eventually he figures it out.He will get better with it and use it occasionally but it won't replace the rasengan. I just want to widen his skill set a bit.**

 **Well thats it let me know how it was and I'll figure out what to do next. Don't be afraid to ask questions or make suggestions either it could definitely help.**


	3. Trouble around the corner

**_A/N_ : Okay guys so the last chapter ended the prologue and now they will be longer and have more in them. I don't have a schedule for this so it might be a little erratic. That being said if I take too long don't be afraid to yell at me. It would probably give me motivation to go. Not sure how many chapters I'll end up with but I will reach an end point eventually.** **Jesus I did not expect that many notification emails on the first day out. Thanks guys it means** **a lot** **A review came in from AJGuardian, I appreciate the support bud. Well that's enough stalling, let me get this story rolling, see y'all at the bottom.**

 **I don't own** **Naruto**

Morning bloomed over the desert as the creeped upwards from the horizon. People were readying themselves for the day and businesses and shops were opening. Any that weren't currently awake were children both civilian schools and the ninja academy were on their break for the summer and it was time for them to rest.

Most of the adult ninja were taking missions or training, some with their genin teams, and a few high ranking ones were sitting in on a meeting with their Kazekage.

The man looked to be extremely irritated and for good reason. Whatever that Konoha child had done created a fresh crater in the desert. That wasn't an issue though and nobody was hurt except the enemy but the blood was everywhere. He could not let his son's team out for a mission because of the blood. If he saw it he would go on a rampage and might attack his siblings.

Very few could be trusted with the politics and neccessity of the mission, however, and it wouldn't do to let out too much information.

Suna was going to invade Konoha at the next Chuunin exam. The Leaf was to host the exams this time around and that would mean few from other villages would venture out to the home of the tree-huggers. If all went to plan the only ones that would take losses would be the Leaf, the Sand, and the new Sound village Otogakure. They would be the only ones fighting and even though two were to be allies some loss is unavoidable even in a victory.

One of the jounin in the room spoke up. "My lord, what if you sent your daughter to escort the Leaf ninja home. You could also make her help organize the exams. She could gather information for the attack and no one would suspect it."

Another raised his concerns with a worried look on the half of his face visible to the others. "Yes nut the ninja in question is very powerful. You saw the results of his battle just as clear as I and if he catches on-" He was cut off by another ninja's answer.

"Baki, you worry to much, he won't catch anything. If it makes you feel better we could have an Anbu team accompany them. He can't be strong enough to take her and them on in a fight."

""Enough," All of the ninja looked towards their leader awaiting his response.," Baki, I understand your concerns, but we can't let this chance pass by. Call her here and I'll brief her and send an Anbu team too. I don't want to explain it twice. Dismissed."

And with that all ninja present cleared out of his office and a new one came in.

A grey haired boy dressed in purple with large round glasses slid towards the desk with a grin so devious it nearly made the Kazekage shiver. "So, Lord Kazekage, have you decided how to infiltrate the village yet? Lord Orochimaru would be very glad to hear it if that _is_ the case."

"Yes I believe so Kabuto, but I will need time to implement it. If you would like you can leave. I will send the details straight to Orochimaru when the plan is in finished."

"That won't be neccessary _Lord_ Kazekage." A new voice whispered into his ear, "I was here the whole time. I know what your plan is and I support it... That is until the part where you betray me. That part is very undesirable the only way to prevent it would be to kill you..."

Gold dust got a hold of the mysterious voice's owner and dragged forth a pale dark haired man with a large smile and thin body. Before the Kazekage could react a sword shot out of the man's throat and pierced his heart.

Through gritted teeth he cursed the name Orochimaru and all it meant. He grabbed the sword with his gold dust and ripped it from his body. As he stood to fight he felt a pinch in his arm and looked down to see a senbon poking out from it. A _poisoned_ senbon. With a loud thump he crashed to the ground and lay still.

"Kabuto be a dear and escort this man out of my office would you? I feel like I need to stay true to my word and brief my daughter for her mission." An evil smile grew across both men's faces as Orochimaru transformed into a carbon copy of the man that lay dead at his feet.

Kabuto gave his master a sharp nod before disappearing in a puff of smoke with the fresh corpse in tow.

Five minutes later Temari walked in with a team of four Anbu shortly behind her. Used to being greeted by her father's usual blank stare she was slightly unnerved at the sight of him smiling at her.

It was even worse when he finally spoke to her holding that same smile all the way through. "Ah yes hello Temari. I have a mission for you all. Your going to escort that Leaf boy back to his village and while you're there you will be helping to set up the Chuunin exams. Or at least thats your cover..."

A confused look took hold on Temari's face and was reflective of her thoughts at that moment. "Cover, father? What is the real mission?"

The smile spread even further much to the discomfort of those present as he spoke. "Your mission is to gather information on Konoha. Anything you can get will help so don't leave anything out. However for your reports prioritize information retaining their military."

"W-what? I thought we were allies, why do we need that kind of information on our allies?"

"We were allies, until we got a better deal that is. We are going to invade Konoha with aid from Oto and destroy the Leaf village. We plan on using this Chuunin exam gain access to the village. I can guarantee you that this is in our best interest so trust your father and obey your orders. Do you understand?"

Temari couldn't think of words so she just nodded her head in agreement. She was nervous, she had heard from the older ninja that war was terrifying and she wasn't ready to test their ideas. What if she died? What if her friends died? What if she was captured? What would happen? No. Everything would be ok. No reason to worry so much.

With a wave of his hand the room cleared and a maniacal laugh burst from his lips. He would finally get rid of Konoha, of that old man, of his past and then people would fear the name Orochimaru.

XXXXXXXX

Temari was walking through the hospital back to ninja she was assigned to babysit, thinking about her new mission when a loud crash and a groan came from the room said ninja was staying in. Worry crossed her mind as he was in bad shape last time she saw him and he was pretty important for her mission.

She burst through the door to find the blonde teen looking over the remains of his clothing. She had already checked for anything still worthy of being called clothing and it consisted of a black shirt with a large red swirl on the front and the disgustingly orange pants he was holding in his hands. Speaking of hands, weren't they supposed to be covered in cuts? Speaking of cuts shouldn't they be covering his entire body right now? Speaking of entire body was he taking off his hospital gown right now? The answer to all of those and more was yes.

Luckily for the girl he had found staring through his back in apparent horror, he didn't undress in front of her. Instead he leveled bis eyes to the headband hanging around her neck and smiled. "Oh hey, I almost didn't see you there, uh who are you and where are we?."

Temari's mind was blank. He was perfectly healthy. He shouldn't even be able to move until tomorrow, so how was he standing and talking to her? "Oh uh this is the Suna hospital. You've been here for about a day or two. You should not be out of bed until you heal fully and then we can take you home."

Naruto paled a bit at hearing he was in a hospital. That meant he wasn't good enough to win. That meant he wasn't strong. "I'm fine let me get changed and we can leave right away."

Temari stared pointedly at him as she spoke. "No, I'm going to have a doctor look you over and then we'll see what happens. You will not leave here until you're ready."

Naruto paled even further with that news. Hospitals were not anywhere near his idea off fun and now he was trapped in one by this angry looking blonde lady. 'Oh well' he thought 'at least now I'm awake'

After a few minutes of awkward silence Naruto spoke up. "So can I get changed or are you planning on staying for the show?"

A slight blush graced her face as she responded, " Oh, uhh yeah I'll go find a doctor to examine you, uhh sorry I still don't know your name."

"Oh my name's Naruto, what's yours?"

"Temari, nice to meet you Naruto."

That was a lie. She might end up killing him or his friends and family at some point in the near future. She shuddered at the thought of attacking a major village the way they were going to. She stepped out of the room to allow him some privacy and went around the hospital to find a doctor. The first few she ran into were busy but soon she stumbled upon one with thick rectangular glasses and mess of unruly brown hair. She had seen him around before but had never met or spoken to him. After getting his attention and explaining as much of the situation as she could understand she led him to the room where he was needed and knocked.

The voice from the other side was slightly muffled through the door but still clear enough to hear. "Come in."

Temari walked into the room ahead of the doctor see Naruto tying on his forehead protector tightly. The doctor dropped his clipboard as he started wide eyed at the boy before him that had completely healed from the most lethal injuries he'd ever seen in only a day and a half. Not only that but he had enough strength already to get dressed and move around felt freely. This boy just smiled expectantly at the newcomer's arrival, after all the sooner he was cleared the sooner he could leave and the sooner he left for home the better.

He couldn't stand this place for too much longer or he'd go insane. Oh how he longed for the trees he'd grown used to seeing and the shade they provided. He never would feel comfortable outside of Konoha.

Once given a once over by the doctor and proving he was OK Temari decided to let him leave the hospital. Unfortunately he had no money and would not return to the hospital. "Well then you'll have to stay at my house then because you will not be staying in an alleyway for the night." It was the best he could get at the moment and besides it would only be one night so Naruto accepted her offer.

When she led him to a giant mansion near the center of the city he was a bit curious of just who she was and apparently she could read his mind because she said," Oh, I'm the Kazekage's daughter. Ya know in case you were wondering 'why the hell is her house so huge' and close your mouth before you start catching flies.

Temari escorted him inside and through the house's kitchen, his room, and the nearest bathroom. The three most important rooms in any house. "My brother Kankuro is out on a mission right now so all you need to know is to stay in your if you hear anything. My youngest brother, Gaara, hasn't been out in a long time and he isn't a very pleasant person. We'll get up and go around seven so get some sleep. Goodnight."

With that and a wave good bye she was gone. He shuffled over to his bed and lie still until eventually sleep claimed him. His sleep was interrupted at seven thirty the next morning by the loud shouts directed at him from a seemingly battle ready Temari trying to rouse him. Once he pulled himself up and gestured to his battered clothes she remembered that there wasn't anything he could actually do to get ready because he wore it to bed the night before.

After grabbing some fruit for a quick breakfast the pair walked over to the city's gate to start their journey. Once they passed the gate they broke into a sprint towards the Leaf village. It would take almost two days to reach the walls of Konoha and that was enough to get Naruto excited.

He ran full blast over the sands the entire first day until Temari suggested making camp for the night. After an hour the next morning they started to see grass. Another five minutes and shrubbery was everywhere and finally after nearly a week of being in the sand, even if part of it was unconscious, Naruto saw the forest. His smile was brighter than the sun when they began jumping limb to limb, not that Temari minded the changes of scenery at all. The desert sun was a monster and the nights were cold enough to flash freeze you until morning. Not long after they reached the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village and the people awaiting their arrival. Besides the Hokage there was three other people standing jut within the gate watching and waiting for them to get closer. There was a tall grey haired man with most of his face hidden, a girl with pink hair and a red battle dress, and a boy with black hair wearing a deep blues shirt with a high collar.

Once they came within a few feet of the gate the smiles of the other ninjas were contagious and Temari felt... bad. Her village as planning on attacking this one and so far she liked Konoha. She felt bad for the lives they would loose, for the families they would destroy, even for the buildings they would undoubtedly ruin. But it was just the life of a ninja, kill or be killed after all. Except, here at least, she didn't feel like she was in danger. That might be because no one knew the plan yet and it definitely didn't hurt to still have her Anbu guard nearby. Obviously they couldn't come too close to the city, but they could stay near by to send and receive messages for her.

The now larger group led the way to the Hokage tower as Naruto's team tried desperately to fill him in on what he missed. Once their a short debriefing took place and everyone save Temari was dismissed. "So... Temari was it? The Kazekage's daughter? I hear you want to help with the exams this time around. Why is that?" The wizened old shinobi asked her.

Temari thought nervously for a minute before he spoke," I know of your father's treachery, child. I also know he was killed by his 'Partner' Orochimaru. Something tells me you don't, however. Have you not noticed anything strange about him lately? No? Ah, no matter, unfortunately there is still a danger that you might report this knowledge to him and we can't have that. Hmm, the question, child, is what to do with you. You can't go home, You can't go anywhere else, but I can't just throw you in prison, you're too young and I can see that you don't agree with his plans." He let out a groan as he lit his pipe and took a few puffs of it blowing smoke out of his mouth as he thought."I've got it. I'm going to place you under the watch of one of our ninja. That way we can keep an eye on you and guarantee your safety. Since the people that would come after you work for that snake they will be very dangerous. It'll have to be a strong ninja then... Ah how about Naruto? He's strong and he lives in a very inconspicuous location. It would be hard to assume the daughter of the Kazekage as staying in the slums... Yes you should be safe with him."

Oh that was lovely not only did this man know about her mission but her father was dead and she was going to be living with the blonde idiot she was supposed to bring back here. The world works in mysterious ways. As Hiruzen summoned Naruto back to the tower she sat and thought about the news she had received. Well her life was now officially a giant mess. What was she going to do now? That answer would have to wait for later because Naruto had just opened the door and entered the room.

"Was there something else you wanted to tell me old man? I was about to go get some ramen over at Ichiraku's." A stern gaze from his Hokage took away the boy's smile as the old man spoke."You have a new mission Naruto. Calm down, there's no need for you to get excited you won't be leaving the village. I'm assigning you to be Temari's escort and guard. She'll be helping us with the exams coming up and I was planning for her to stay with you for the time being."

Naruto seemed confused when he responded."Wait my house? I only have one bed though. Why doesn't she just get a hotel room?"

Well despite Naruto being an absolute knucklehead he did pose a point Hiruzen hadn't thought he would. This just got even harder."Well Naruto, I didn't think you'd be one to question your Hokage. I do believe you heard my orders, and I do expect you to not let Temari out of your sight."

"Oh, uh yeah sorry Hokage-jiji. It won't happen again." He said 'I will get you back later old man I just don't know how.' "So Temari, I can show you around town before we go to my house if you want. I was going to eat out tonight too so if you want some ramen that will beat anything you've ever eaten I know a place."

Temari nodded her head and pretended to listen as he led her from the the tower to a small ramen stand and motioned her inside. The warm smiles from the two people inside were if little concern to her as she placed her order and retreated back into her thoughts only to be snapped out of them when Naruto had asked for twelve bowls of ramen. The more disturbing part of the request was that she seemed to be the only one fazed by it. The old cook just nodded and got to work while Naruto spoke to the pretty young woman at the counter. He just went on and on about his mission in the sand and how he 'kicked a samurai's ass' before he smiled at her and said her brought her a gift back.

As Naruto pulled out a black box Temari wondered when he had the time to get anything in the hospital. After he opened it to reveal a beautiful gold necklace and handed to the ramen waitress he spoke up. "Just consider it a thank you for always taking care of me when I couldn't do it myself. I owe you guys a serious debt and even if I can never repay you that won't stop me from trying."

A serious look came to both of the staff's faces as the old man spoke."Naruto you don't owe us anything. What we've done for you was because we consider you family and I won't have my family going hungry in the streets. Now eat up kiddo, you can tell us about kicking ass later."

A sad smile was present on Naruto's face as he picked up his chopsticks and started eating. Much to Temari's suprise he actually finished all of his bowls before she did and went back to talking with the pair behind the counter.

"So Naruto who's you're date? She's cute, you know, and it isn't right to hide things from you're sister." said the waitress with a teasing voice that Naruto clearly dud not catch.

"Ah come on Ayame don't say things like that Sakura might be near by and hear you. I don't know what I'd do if she thought I was dating someone else." Naruto responded with a deep blush. He was clearly embarrassed and it seemed so easy that Temari couldn't help but pile on.

"Oh? And who is this Sakura? I never pegged you as the type to cheat on me _Naruto-kun._ " Amidst a fit of giggles from the pair of women a hard thud could be heard as Naruto had fallen out of his seat in his flustered state. A sigh came from the brunette behind the counter as she spoke to Naruto. "See little brother, I told you it was just a waste of time to go after your teammate when there were other girls out there. Especially since she never shared your feelings."

Through his mutterings only a few snatches of his words could be understood. "Not dating... Temari... Sakura-chan... come around... eventually..."

Twenty minutes later he was unlocking his door as Temari stood beside him. Once it opened she was shocked at what she saw. The small apartment was a mess there were empty ramen cups everywhere and clothes thrown all around. Before she said anything ten clones of the boy to her side appeared and started tidying up. "Follow me and I'll show you your bed. You can stay in my room for the time being and I can take the couch."

Well at least she didn't have to worry about him trying anything she mused. She too was worried when the Hokage asked for him to house her. Now was not the time to dwell on her thoughts she'd been thinking all day. What she needed now was sleep, and lots of it. She readied herself for bed and snuggled into his blankets. Unsuprisingly, they, like everything else in the house, had the faint scent of ramen. They were still warm, though, and soon sleep took her away.

In the living room Naruto sat and contemplated what the Hokage had told him when Temari was deep in her own thoughts.

 _Flashback_

"Naruto, listen. She needs to be protected and hidden from anyone wearing the sand _or_ sound insignia. Ninja from both villages will be after her life if she doesn't report. While the sand ninja shouldn't be a problem for you, these sound ninja are **very** powerful I have assigned and Anbu team to guard your house and watch you."

"Hai, I'll do my best Hokage-jiji, but what about my team and missions? Won't they need me?"

"I'll tell them you've been assigned a special mission. They can use substitutes from our reserves until you get back on active duty."

"I see. Well then I have a mission to get to. See ya later old man." With a wink back at the Hokage he made his way to the door grabbing Temari on his way. The pair made it away before Hiruzen could laugh at his antics.

Leaving the old Kage alone with his enemy; paper work. Luckily his friend tobacco wasn't far behind and helped him along.

 _Flashback End_

And now as the moon was climbing into the sky and darkness crawling over the ground he sat. He didn't know what was coming but he could tell it was big and someone dear to him would be hurt. He was scared for the first time in his life. Not even the annual fox hunts bothered him this bad. At least he could hide from a horde of drunken fools with weapons. This danger was unavoidable, Orochimaru could not be reasoned with. The only option was to prepare. Starting tomorrow he would train. He didn't know Temari would work into this but he would have to get **much** more powerful.

Then it him. That day in the desert. Those memories he didn't have. 'Clones' he thought. 'I have clones...'

The plan was simple. He apparently kept his clone's memories so maybe that would transfer to training too. That way he could send them out and learn without letting Temari out of his sight. With his mind finally at ease he could finally fall asleep.

 _The next day_

Everything was peaceful in the village. The sun was rising over the forest and the villagers were sleeping in their beds. Or they were until a high pitched scream split the stillness of the village and Naruto jumped awake to land on the floor. There at his door stood a pale faced Sakura staring at the sight of the two people inside.

Naruto was in his boxers with his face firmly planted on the floor with a look of slight pain flashing on it. While Temari was barely more modest. She wore a shirt a few sizes to large and some unusually short shorts. It was clear what the implication was for both of them but right then they were both too tired to care.

Sakura was not as laid back as they were and let them know it when she yelled at them. "Naruto who is this girl and why she in your house dressed like that? Why are in your underwear? What is going on here?"

Naruto stood from his prone position on the floor and answered the questions as best he could. "This is Temari, she stayed the night last night and clearly just woke up. Nothing us going on here and I'm in my underwear because this is my house and I will do as I please. Is that all?"

Sakura just nodded dumbly before she spoke. "Kakashi sensei sent me to tell you not to worry about missions for the time being. Um, Naruto are you and Temari, uhh, dating?" Disinterested in as she was she knew several girls that would have fits if this kind of gossip went public. Hinata especially would freak out.

"No!" was shouted from both of them simultaneously. Temari was now blushing bright red at the idea of dating that half naked blonde idiot. Although Naruto had to admit she was kinda cute, especially like this. Her hair down and flowing down her back, her long toned and tan legs, and her pretty face framed on all side by her sandy colored hair. A mental debate played in between two Narutos over whether or not she wore a bra under that oversized shirt while the girl in question tried to explain the situation without giving away too much information.

"I need a guard while I'm here because I'm the Kazekage's daughter and he was available. He gave me his bed and he slept on the couch so I wouldn't be uncomfortable."

That seemed to work for Sakura who was now a little embarrassed herself at just assuming _that_. She waved good bye to the pair as they stood in the kitchen. Two loud rumbles changed the subject just in time and Naruto had an idea.

"So, uhh, Temari if you're hungry I've been waiting on an excuse to cook. Ayame taught me a few things. I could make you some breakfast before we go out."

Temari was about to accept the offer when another loud growl did it for her. Naruto smiled and went to the fridge. "How does an omelette sound?" He asked her as he lay the eggs on the counter and placed a pan down on the stove. Temari nodded her approval and sat to watch him work. The sight of his muscles moving from behind wasn't necessarily unpleasant and she blushed a bit at her own thoughts. Soon enough he joined her at the table with two plates and set one down in front of her. He sat and watched eagerly as she took a small bite and smiled when she suddenly picked up the pace and was basically shovelling her food into her mouth. "That good huh? Ayame taught me how to cook because 'It's the key to a woman's heart' whatever that was supposed to mean."

"I don't care what reason she gave you, she definitely knew what she was doing. I've never had anything that good anywhere in my life."

Naruto smiled and gave her a thank you before he ate his own meal. Once they finished he washed the dishes while she went and got dressed. Once his room was vacant it was his turn and since it was completely destroyed in his last battle, his outfit was without it's most defining feature, his jacket. He wore a short sleeved black shirt and a pair of orange pants and black sandals. They met up at the door and headed to the place they were supposed to meet the Leaf exam organizer. They would finally plan the exams and then she would have no more meetings to stress her out.

At least... for now.

 _ **A/N**_ **: Well there you go guys. Chapter three is the first full chapter** **for this story and is much longer than the other two** **. I don't think I'll have a set limit on my stories but I aim on keeping this one at least five thousand a chapter. I'm sure there will be outliers but for now it should be good. Guys I need help with this story i don't know what you want to see so if you any praise, criticism, or suggestions please share them with me and i'll see what I can do. See you guys next time.**


	4. Trip Down Disaster Road

**_A/N:_ Hey guys I'm back. Sorry for taking so long but I've been playing the shinobi striker beta and it is honestly amazing. I got an interesting message yesterday and I have been given permission to use someone's OC. Calm down it isn't that serious, I just think he could come in handy later on. He also gave me ideas for weapons and summons and I've never been more excited to write. Well lets get busy.**

 **I do not own Naruto.**

 **Three weeks later.**

The day was finally here. The sun was out and shining bright, the birds were singing their songs from the trees, and the clouds casting shade on those below. Yes, today was a good day to kill. Today was a good day to die.

All the genin from the various villages were gathered together and ready to begin the final part of the exams. They all stood and waited nervously, but a few were a bit more nervous.

Temari knew what was coming. Naruto knew what was coming. Temari knew that Naruto knew and He knew that she knew. Whenever possible nervous glances would fly towards the slightest movements. Once the stadium was full the Hokage spoke from the kage box.

"Welcome all to the Chunin exam finals. I'm glad you could join us here today. Now let the show begin!"

A roar of applause burst from the crowds and the fighting began. Today's chunin exams would be the bloodiest in the history of the event. For once though, most of the deaths wouldn't involve the participants.

Suddenly the audience's cheering stopped and the stadium was quiet. Every civilian and even a few shinobi were slouched over and sleeping. That was not good. That meant it had begun. The invasion of Konoha was real and it was now. A huge explosion rocked the ground as the sleeping shinobi were roused by their comrades. All eyes looked to the giant dust cloud and horror took the place of their previous confusion. A giant snake was pushing its way through the gates of Konoha.

Then a blur passed over their heads and a hat emblazoned with the kanji for fire dropped to the ground. Every shinobi present knew this was bad. Sand ninja were openly siding with these new unidentified ones and there was mass panic in the Leaf's ranks. Anyone who could fight was currently engaged in the most ferocious battle of their lives. A battle for their home. One they could not lose.

Unfortunately for Naruto he couldn't join in the fight. His mission was to take Temari away from danger and then guard her with his life. He knew the Hokage was not joking when he assigned him his duties and believed that the old man could beat Orochimaru. The only thing that bothered him was that nobody else could. He didn't know who would survive and who wouldn't and it was eating away at him thinking some of his friends might die. Sure he knew that danger was the way the Shinobi earned their living but still death was not something that had no effect on any one but the deceased. Death came for all and never lost, losing someone was only a reminder of that fact. A reminder faced every day by millions.

With Temari slung over his shoulder he made his way towards the Hokage monument. He knew the perfect place to hide her and maybe then he could find a way to help the others. It was quicker with him carrying her though it was also clear she did **not** like it. So to stop her from attracting trouble Naruto stopped and placed her down. "The only other way we could good time would be much weirder for you I promise but if you don't want to be carried like that we'll have to improvise."

This drew a curious look on her face and she cautiously approached the situation. "What does that mean? What other way co-" She never finished that sentence as Naruto scooped her up bridal style and dashed off to safety. Temari wasn't uncomfortable anymore and this was definitely better than his hand on her ass, but this position was a bit too... intimate? Yeah that was the word. She decided to just be quiet lest he switch back and within five minutes they were on top of the Hokage monument.

"Naruto what are we doing here? Is this really the safest place you could think of?"

Naruto shook his head and pointed. "That building over there has been standing strong since the founding of the village. You can stay there with my clone until I get back." Temari followed his finger to an old stone building on top of the cliff housing the heads of the previous Hokage.

"Then I'm going to help the others protect the village. I'm sure you'll be fine." Temari nodded and was then escorted inside by a clone. She was a big girl and could take care of herself. The clone was just so he wouldn't be lying to the Hokage.

Once they were safely inside Naruto dashed off to help. The first thing he noticed was the huge sphere of sand floating above the village. 'That was a sand ninja in the exams. What was his name? Oh right thats Temari's brother Gaara.' Naruto decided he would take care of Gaara. After all they were both jinchuruki. It would be better to keep other ninja away from him.

In fact several leaf ninja had him surrounded at the moment. Or they did, before sand shot out and pierced them all through the chest. Most of them would probably die from their injuries but right now that was not the biggest issue. No, that would be the sand rushing towards Naruto while his eyes lay on his fallen comrades. Right before it hit him though he used a substitution and appeared right behind Gaara. He threw a quick punch that would do hardly any damage. Sand rose immediately and blocked it allowing Gaara to counter attack. 'Well now.' he thought. 'If I can't hit him then how do I beat him?'

He then noticed the tendrils of sand coated in blood. Compared to the dry ones they moved much slower. 'So I have to get his sand wet to do some damage, huh?' Naruto only knew water jutsu but it would do just fine for this situation. Kakashi had taught it to him after the wave mission. Naruto had practically begged for it and the man reluctantly complied, that would be the last time he used his sharingan near Naruto. He couldn't use it perfectly just yet but he had a way to cheat it.

" **Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu."** He shouted. A huge deformed dragon made of water rose from a koi pond in a nearby yard and barreled its way towards Gaara. Technically speaking it was the same jutsu just... a little less refined. Instead of a bad ass dragon it looked like an earthworm erupting from the water. He was only able to control it like this though. He hadn't had time to finish it before the exams, but he might not need the full scale attack for this fight. As the giant watery noodle made contact with Gaara's sand it fell to the ground taking the wet sand with it. Naruto pumped chakra to his feet and ran at the young red haired sand ninja before him. There was no fear, no worry, only murderous rage was in his eyes. At least, before a fist connected with his face and sent him flying over the city wall and into the forest. He flew for nearly a minute before descending rapidly into a clearing. Naruto was not far behind him and he smiled as drew a giant shuruken out of nowhere. He threw it forward and the poor jinchuruki of the shukaku attempted to dodge it. Nearly as soon as it passed a poof and a loud shout could be heard.

" **Rasengan!** " Came from the lips of two Naruto's as they ran towards Gaara. If they hit he would lose. If he lost his mother's love may fade away. That was not going to happen. Gaara jumped up and used the gourd of dry sand on his back to create several shuruken that he promptly threw straight down. The pair of blondes below crashed Rasengan against Rasengan and awaited the coming explosion. In order to try and deflect the blast away from their faces they angled their palms upward and a bright beam of light shot out. It hit Gaara hard in his chest and completely obliterated his projectiles. As he sailed higher into the sky Naruto created several clones and sent them into the air. Four of them uppercut Gaara in his back pushing him even higher before the orginal appeared above him and delivered a kick to his stomach sending him down to the ground. Naruto was about to use his clones to catch him when a sandy rope caught him and threw him down. Both boys crashed to the ground hard and lay there staring at each other.

"Why. Why won't you just die?! If you don't die I can't validate my existence. You have to DIE!" Gaara said as he tried desperately to stand. Then he noticed that the blonde was squirming his way over to him and a new feeling washed over him. Was this fear? Of what? This fool in front of him? "Stay away from me!"

But the boy didn't stop. He spoke through gritted teeth as he crawled over to the red head. "Let me ask you a question, Gaara. Do you know what you have inside of you? I doubt you know exactly what it is. Its not your mother. Its a demon. The One Tailed Biju. Shukaku. Right now you think I'm lying. You're wondering what I know and how could I understand your pain. I'll tell you. I'm the host of the Nine Tailed Fox. The strongest of all the biju. Not only can I feel your anger, your hatred, and your despair. I can feel your love, your compassion, your desire. You are a good person, but you are weak. A strong person does not fight for their relevance or well being. They fight for their beliefs and their comrades. That is why I will win this fight no matter what. I respect and trust my fellow ninja even when they don't return those things. I've been looking after your sister. I know about your past. I want to help you find a better future. Let me."

Tears bubbled up in the sand ninja's eyes as he used all of his remaining strength to nod his head and push himself up. Everything he thought was a lie. He was valid. He did exist. He had nothing to prove. He was weak. In this case he was clearly out matched. He had lost and that was it. No more. But the killing blow never came. His and sister ran upon the scene and grabbed him. Leaving Naruto behind and retreating with the rest of the Sand village forces. Naruto was shocked. How'd she get past his guard clone? Then he slammed his head to the ground as the very embarrassing memory surfaced. While he was fighting Gaara his clone had found some cigarettes. Thinking it would be cool he promptly shoved one into his mouth and used a small fire jutsu that shot a small flame through his thumb to light it. Now it seemed that he had enjoyed it as he then proceeded to literally smoke his way out of existence. On a different note it seems he could definitely use a bit of tobacco now. Since he could hardly move, however, it would have to wait.

 **On top of the Hokage Tower**

A large purple barrier enclosed two men on the roof of the Hokage tower and only one would be leaving. They stood opposite each other with maybe twenty feet between them. There was definitely more than twenty years between them as well. On one end now without his Kage hat and cloak stood Hiruzen. On the other the spineless snake Orochimaru. While from the outside it was unclear what was going on the inside was actually already a fierce battle. A genjutsu war was being waged between the old Hokage and his one time student. A war which was being won by the old man. As he finally broke his enemy's three layered jutsu he smiled realizing his four layered one was still in effect. He raised his hands and very quickly created several hand seals. " **Summoming Jutsu** " A large monkey appeared beside the old man and after a quick glance towards the enemy a nod was shared. Within a second the monkey king Enma was transformed into a bo staff and the battle hardened Kage charged forward. He pole vaulted over his snake summoning enemy and used the expansion of his unbreakable staff to deal a hard blow to the man's back followed by three to the head that sent the pale weirdo flying. Now thoroughly aware of the situation Orochimaru's neck stretched forth and spit out a new body. This one held a sword in his hand at the ready and the old one wilted like an old snake skin.

"Do you like the odds Sensei? This is the Kusinagi blade. It can cut anything. And you hold the unbreakable staff in your hands. I wonder which weapon will be proved truly unbeatable."

Not even a flinch from the old Kage as Orochimaru shot forward swinging frantically. The old man narrowly dodge a few more wild swings before one split open his left arm. He raised Enma and hand shot forth and punched the snake sannin into the barrier his ninja created.

"That hurt a bit, you know."

A smirk passed Orochimaru's face before a slight flickering noise came from behind him. Then the giant box around the Kage and himself disappeared. Leaving him and his ninja completely open to an attack from all the gathered Jounin, Anbu, and... Jiraiya?

What was he doing back in Konoha? Oh wait those reports said he was nearby. He must have been stopping by to resupply. Or maybe peep on the bath house like he used to. Of course the one man that could disarm his barrier seal jutsu in the entirety of the elemental nations would just happen to be here **now**. Oh well a fight is a fight. A hard kick hit Orochimaru courtesy of the toad sage. Each of his hands held a Rasengan as he shoved his palms forward. The contact was enough to literally cut through Orochimaru who had a look of pain on his face and two large holes where his stomach should have been. A gurgle escaped his throat as the blood that wasn't pouring out of his abdomen left his mouth. His corpse slouched back and lay still as the rest of his ninja all lay dead nearby. His treachery was now over for ever. Jiraiya looked over to see his sensei lying down and breathing heavy. This was not a job for an old man. Jiraiya might actually have to take that hat soon.

Or...

 **Konoha's Eastern Gates**

"Hey! We got another over here. Bring the stretcher I don't think he can walk."

The voice was clearly referring to Naruto who had now used his chin to crawl all the way back inside the village gate and was headed home to rest.

"Wait that kid took on that sand ninja and won? How? He barely hung in the Chunin exams. Oh well just get him some help."

'Who the hell was that. The voice came from a blonde woman in a green jacket. Holy... look at those... how does her back take that kind of strain? Uh oh. She looks mad. Was I staring?'

"What do you mean you won't treat him? Why not?... SO? I'M STRONGER THAN HALF THE SHINOBI ALIVE AND YOU AREN'T LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO US IS THAT HE HASN'T KILLED YOU ALL YET AND I'M CONSIDERING IT. NOW GET THE DAMN STRETCHER, I'LL HEAL HIM MYSELF!"

That was all he could hear before he blacked out. He would be fine. He always was.

" **Boy. Wake up. Get up you fool. You have overstayed your welcome now leave.** "

Naruto sat up awake and sweating. He hated being in that damn seal world. It always left him feeling weak. Wait a second was he... oh no. The white room, the clothes, the beds. He was in the hospital _again_. This time though instead of Temari he looked over to see that same blonde woman from earlier whispering with Jiraiya-sensei. He was the first to notice his apprentice awake and gestured to him for the woman.

"Oh good you're awake. Now why are you such an idiot. You could have died you know! What has Jiraiya been teaching you? Oh whatever. Nobody ever listens. I'm Tsunade. I was Jiraiya's teammate back in the day. I was passing by when I saw the smoke and rushed over to see what was happening. I saved your life, you know."

"Hey brat long time no see. How are you?"

"Ero-sannin? I thought you left just before the finals. What are you doing here?"

Jiraiya's eye twitched and Tsunade laughed a bit before he explained. "The Hokage filled me in a while ago. I stayed nearby to help with Orochimaru. He is a bit angry about the Suna girl though."

"Never speak about it again and it would be too soon."

"What happened? Ohh did she flash you? Was it nice? What did they look like?"

Jiraiya's face was suddenly through the floor as Tsunade lifted her fist back up and sighed. "Keep talking and I'll kill you."

"I really don't want to talk about it. On the bright side I beat Gaara and the sand retreated. How is everyone?"

"Well all your friends are fine. All our casualties were chunin and above. Unfortunately I doubt your exam performance will earn you a promotion. Or anyone for that matter. I'd be suprised if the Hokage has time for them anyway with how he has to try and fix all the political issues between all the villages present."

Naruto let out a deep sigh at his masters words and for once he actually felt nervous. He still might get the promotion for his actions against Gaara, but he also might be charged with treason for disobeying the Hokage's direct order. This could either be great or absolutely terrible. The only way to find out was to get it over with. So as soon as he was checked out of the hospital he went over to the Hokage tower and knocked on the door to Hiruzen's office.

Normally he would just walk right in but if Naruto thought he was busy he would knock first and with the recent events he was undoubtedly busy. "Come in." came the sound of the old man's voice through the door. "Ah, Naruto I was waiting for you. I heard about your actions during the attack. Don't worry I'm not going to chew you out over it. I'm actually very proud of you. When you went after that sand ninja you protected the village and freed up some responsibility for the others."

Wait what? He wasn't in trouble? He did a good job? Hell, Naruto had come in ready to offer his head and he wasn't even in trouble. "Uhh, yeah of course. I couldn't just leave them in danger. What kind of ninja would I be?" This caused a smile to form on the Hokage's face while he readied himself for the news.

"Unfortunately, I feel like I'll have to retire soon, my boy. I'm too old for this kind of thing anymore. I'd like to give you this hat, but I think its too soon for that." This actually made Naruto a bit sad seeing how his only goal in life was to be the best Hokage ever. Seeing this Hiruzen continued. "But... I suppose I could get you closer to your dream. I'm promoting you to Chunin. Effective immediately you are a full fledged Konoha Chunin. I've arranged for your vest to be delivered to your home and I expect you to continue the good work."

Now Naruto didn't know what to say. He had been on a rollercoaster of emotions since he stepped into the room. First it was fear, then relief, a small bit of dissapointment, and finally happiness. He was the first of his friends to reach Chunin so this was a big deal. Naruto smiled before speaking to the Hokage. "I will, thank you Hokage-jiji." Then he grew curious. "Hey wait, since it isn't me who would be the next Hokage?"

Hiruzen thought for a moment before he smiled and answered. "Since Jiraiya won't do it Tsunade would be the best option. I taught them both and trust either of them to carry on the will of fire."

Naruto nodded as he thought about his words. That doctor lady would be taking the seat before him. Oh well, that just meant he could get even stronger before he became the Hokage.

 **Meanwhile in Suna**

The council was in a fuss. They had had quite the time recently. They had been tricked by Orochimaru, their Kazekage Lord Rasa was dead, and they lost several good ninja in the invasion. On top of that they still had no Kazekage and relations with the other nations were not looking good. The only way out of this mess was to make amends with Konoha and reinstate their treaty.

"I'm not a damn politician, I can't figure anyway to get them to overlook the fact that we just attacked them. Even if we were tricked and following orders they won't just leave us alone. We need a new Kazekage to help us with this."

"Who could do that? Our strongest ninja is still recovering from the invasion and he isn't the most stable person..."

"We don't need stable. We need scary. Besides he's too young to deal with politics yet so we could handle that while his power scares our enemies away. As for Konoha, they had a ninja capable of beating Gaara before he could even use the power of the one tail. The only possible solution to our problems would be to apologize and give them all the aid they need before they sick him on us."

"Speaking of 'him' do we know who it was?"

"Reports say it was a ninja matching the description of one Naruto Uzumaki. He was a participant in the exams and has quite the mission record for one so young. Of all his C ranks he was the determining factor in their success and it seems his first one was no different, in fact it was actually revealed to be an A rank. This kid is pretty impressive."

"Sure, but how do we keep him off of us. We can't afford to lose more ninja for any reason. If he attacks we might not be here much longer."

"Silence." All heads looked to the new speaker who stood in the doorway. Gaara stared all of them down and spoke. "Naruto Uzumaki. He... changed me... I no longer mean any harm to anyone deemed my ally. I feel like this monster inside me is just a burden now. I do not wish to be like I was. I will take the Kage hat like you have said and I will negotiate peace with the Leaf myself. Once peace is official you all may decide whether or not I stay in power."

Well that was an interesting thought but not one of those present wanted to test how true the first part of his statement was. For now that would do. Gaara had hoped they would listen. He had a plan in place to help both the Leaf and Sand, and it involved Naruto especially. His fellow Jinchuuriki was also his best friend whether he knew it or not.

 **Back in** **Konoha**

Naruto lay on his bed clutching his new chunin vest to his shirtless body and thinking about what would happen tomorrow. The council had agreed with Hiruzen and Jiraiya had refused the position leaving Tsunade to accept and become the new Hokage. Plus with Orochimaru dead the Leaf didn't have to worry about him, leaving the more pressing matters of diplomacy to be dealt with. Naruto would not be there for the coronation, however, as he had a mission the following day with his team. They would be traveling to some small village to capture a group of theives.

Naruto thought back to last night as the rookie twelve all sat around at their favorite meeting place listening to Naruto talk aboht his new promotion. Apparently Shikamaru had also been promoted to the next rank and the other members of the group were happy for the two of them.

Well all but Sasuke that is. The usually moody teen was actually even more gloomy than usual. He had been like that a lot recently. Ever since the second phase of the exams come to think of it. He was even more distatched than usual and was never seen outside of his compound aside from missions and training. Now he even started having little moments where he'd space out and hold his shoulder like there was something there. He never talked anymore and it bothered everyone.

Suddenly a loud banging came from Naruto's door and he moved to open it. He walked to the door and turned the knob before he pulled it in to see a very urgent look on the face of one Shikamaru Nara.

""What's up Shika? Is there something wrong?" Naruto asked before Shikamaru grabbed him by the shoulder and spoke quickly. "Yes! Something is very wrong. Sasuke just left the village. We found Sakura knocked out near the gate and when she woke up she told us. Naruto he's trying to take over Orochimaru's old village. I'm going to get the others meet us at the east gate. "

Naruto couldn't even process all of that information before he was sprinting down the street pulling his vest on over his bare chest. He hadn't had time to grab his shirt or jacket but he would not need them anyways. He sprinted through the gate without stopping and made his way to Sasuke following the trail of destruction he left behind. He caught sight of a large log barreling towards him and jumped away to avoid it.

Sasuke was standing in front of him in no time.half his body covered in black markings and slowly turning grey all over. In less than a minute his whole body was grey and a large hand like appendage had sprouted off his back. Naruto could feel the killing intent coming from the boy in front of him and it almost made him nervous.

Sasuke's fist shot for Naruto's head and nearly made contact before Naruto caught his arm and tried to push him back. It made Sasuke stumble back but he smiled as he did so. "Seems you think you're stronger than me. I can't wait to prove you wrong." He said as he charged at the blonde again. The duo exchanged blows for what felt like an hour before Sasuke took a familiar stance.

" **Chidori!** " He yelled as he dashed forward. Naruto noticed this and gave his own shout of," **Rasengan** ," as he too ran forward. The two clashed in the middle and the chidori arm ripped into Naruto's vest and hit his chest as his rasengan slammed into Sasuke's. The two collapsed in a heap on the ground before they both tried to stand again.

Movement could be heard nearby which meant the other teams were nearby. Sasuke tried to run but Naruto jumped at him again. Bleeding from his wounds he tackled Sasuke to the ground. He tried his best to keep him down before help came, but he couldn't.

He had no choice but to head butt Sasuke in the hopes of knocking him out. The first hit broke his nose. The second was the one that put him under and Naruto soon also passed out. Before he faded he could hear his allies approaching and he knew he would be safe. He closed his eyes and welcomed the rest. He was tired and it was time to sleep.

"Hey there they are!" Someone yelled.

"Quick someone head back and tell them to get a medical team on standby." called another faceless shout.

"I'm on it!" Answered a third.

"Hurry they're losing blood!" The second called.

"Sasuke-kun..." Came a worried cry.

"Naruto-kun..." Came a quiet murmur.

Today was not a peaceful day. It was only twelve and they had already been scouring the woods looking for their friends for nearly an hour. When they found them they were both bloody and beaten unconscious.

Hopefully they'd be okay. All they had was hope. Hope that Sasuke would stay in Konoha this time. Hope that Naruto would survive his wounds. Hope that this was all a terrible nightmare that they could wake up from soon. Hope that it was over.

 ** _A/N:_ And over it was. Sorry if this seems rushed but I stitched together the exams, invasion, and the rescue in order to establish my next piece. I'm not great with fights but this chapter had a couple and I don't think they were too bad. Orochimaru is gone for now and both sannin are home. I really hate that snake freak and didn't want to use him as an enemy for the story, but he's impossibly hard to kill. He will be back eventually. Don't get mad at me please but next chapter might include some uhh... heavier stuff? I don't know how to say it but it isn't that bad at all. Just more serious. Leave a review if you have anything to say and enjoy your day.**


	5. Think Before you Steal

**_A/N_ : **Hi guys. Don't worry I haven't been killed yet. School recently started and I have been super busy. That being said these will be spaced out a bit more now and I might not be able to promise any sort of scheduling at all. Fortunately for me I only have one more year after this and I can say good bye to THAT God forsaken place. Also from now on I'll be naming a song from my playlist to the beginning of the chapters. Anyways enough blabbering lets get down and dirty.

 _To Be With You - Mr. Big_

 **Guess who still has yet to buy Naruto?**

* * *

How did this happen? What could anyone possibly have done in another life to deserve this? An unconscious blonde child lay alone in a hospital. The room was bare of any sort of cards or he was awake that would have definitely stung at his pride, but he was used to hate by now.

One room over was a different story all together. Flowers, cards, and even balloons decorated most of the room while a gloomy Sasuke sat and sifted through his thoughts. On one hand his curse seal no longer hurt. Due in no small part to Jirayia working on it after the surgeries. On the other hand Naruto was now just as strong as he himself was. That angered Sasuke deeply and it was his only consolation that said ninja had been not only beaten but knocked unconscious by the Uchiha. It also didn't hurt that the blonde had nothing in the way of visitors.

At least people cared about the last "loyal" Uchiha.

That being said it still made no sense. Why wasn't the blonde receiving praise for stopping him? People seemed to ignore that part and only see how hurt Sasuke was. Sure it stung a bit, mostly his pride, but still it could be worse. It definitely could have been worse. He could have been Naruto. The blonde was now headed out of the hospital. He recovered unnaturally fast and was now moving at a brisk pace towards his home.

'Oh boy. Can't wait to see what happened this time.' He thought as he rolled his eyes. He didn't even have to open the door because some very very kind soul had made things easy by just kicking the door in. This time there was more of the never ending 'demon child' graffiti and the classic move all the shit I've ever owned and break everything. His couch was flipped and his table broken. All of his drawers were pulled out completely and one was even missing all together.

Most of his furniture was broken, torn, defaced, or some combination of the three. Surprisingly it was confined to the main room. His bedroom and connecting bathroom was untouched. A small blessing in his mind. There was a difference between making a mess of someone's eating space and their bed. Never touch someone else's room. That would be where they kept their most important things. For Naruto that consisted of his bed, a picture of the third and himself, and a small shelf of books.

He had never actually read them, but Hiruzen had given them to him as a gift once. Who knows, it could be the answers to the universe, too bad he didn't care. He decided to turn in for the day. Tommorow he had to see the Hokage. That normally takes a good while to end so he may as well be rested. Sleep came slowly thoughts about the future flying through his mind. Oddly enough he remembered his time in that Sand hospital. He didn't recall any hostility towards him from the people of Suna. Why did everyone here hate him? Somewhere deep inside a primal rage spread through him. He had no idea why, but it started to really get him worked up. Suddenly he heard a voice. He could only make out a few words before the voice rose so high it gave him a splitting head ache. **"You're a prison."**

He thought about those words for a little until he passed out and gave himself to the dream realm. What did that mean? What was he keeping locked up? Who said that? No dreams came that night, unfortunately for him.

* * *

The morning came quickly for Naruto and he almost didn't get up. However his respect for the position of the Hokage, while not always clear, was extremely motivational. For once he was up and ready within fifteen minutes.

Once his shoes were on he was out the door. In no time flat he was hanging around the Hokage tower for his summons. After two hours of his mind numbing boredom someone finally retrieved him. Once the Anbu that escorted him was gone the blonde in the chair glared a hole through him. It was clear that both sides of the conversation were anxious as to how this would go.

"Listen kid, I don't know what you did to make all these people not like you this much, because from what I've seen that Uchiha's injuries are nowhere near fatal, yet somehow everyone hates you. I got the report on your living space being ransacked and vandalized. For your own safety and to get rid of all these damned headaches from the council, I hereby banish you from the leaf village effective immediately. Place your head band on my desk before you leave, you have one hour to get what you have together and get out."

Naruto stared at her as if she had twenty heads and one breast."W-wait what?! Are you serious?"

Tsunade nodded once as she spoke," As a heart attack. Sorry kid but my hands are tied and everyone hates you. I did manage to get it reduced from public execution though. Just stay away from the shinobi life and you'll be fine. It would be a real shame for some one as young as you to just fade out. Go live your life to the fullest, just be sure to stay out of the Land of Fire and her allies"

That was it. All of his life he had respected the Hokage. The position was one of high renown but apparently all it takes is one scratch to ruin the paint. There was nothing left to keep him here in Konoha. He would miss the kindness of the Ichiraku's, the strain of his muscles after a rough training session with Kakahi and Team Seven, even the moldy smell of his apartment building would be missed.

She called forth an Anbu to escort him home and out of the village. Really his job was to make sure he left and no harm came to him. At first Naruto just stared at the ground as he walked, hell he hardly even skipped a beat packing up, but once he actually crossed through the gates he broke into tears. Softly at first, but after a few seconds the noise could be heard for miles.

Everyone in the village knew what it was, yet not one had any remorse. What they had done was make an enemy. Now there was only the hope he wouldn't be a strong one. Naruto stumbled his way out of the land of fire, stopping every now and again for sleep and food. After a few days he heard it again. That voice from the other night.

 **"What now?"**

It was probably the best question he had ever heard. One with no definite answer. Who knew what would happen? Certainly not him.

 **"Brat, did you hear me? What will you do now?."**

Naruto lifted his head to look around and was terrified by what he saw. Twenty or so feet ahead was a giant cage holding a monstrous fox. It looked nearly feral, but to Naruto that wasn't the problem. The beast had nine tails. Knowing the basics about tailed beast and seals, he deduced that since the fox was here in this... sewer? Yes, it had to be. The Nine Tailed Fox was sealed inside of Naruto by the Fourth Hokage!

After a few minutes of absolute silence passed Naruto's eyes met those of the fox. A steely determined gaze met the wild untamed ones belonging to the fox.

"Now I get stronger. I don't know much about seals, but if you're here then you would die if I were to. So you are going to train me and I'll become the most powerful shinobi in history."

For a brief second the fox appeared to smile. Then Naruto opened his eyes to gaze up at the sky. He had awaken from his slumber and his meeting.

 **"I'll take your deal, boy."**

Naruto was not happy. He was simply determined. First he would get strong. So strong that not even the five kage could beat him. Then he would rub it into the idiots who had sent him away. His plan was rather simple. He would hang around each of the other four major villages for a bit and then after learning as much as he could, move to the next. If he heard of a powerful ninja in a smaller village he would seek them out for training.

'Shit!' He thought. 'I'll have to disguise myself to enter lands allied with Konoha. Just in case something happens.'

With that revelation he turned towards Kumo. He figured it would be best to start there and finish on Suna. He knew a certain family there that would probably recognize him even in disguise and they were trying desperately to maintain a stable relationship with Konoha. As he went he made conversation with the Kyuubi.

 **"So boy, how long do you plan on staying in each village?"**

'Well... I don't know really. In Kumo I want to start some weapons training. Maybe a sword of some kind as well as chakra control before I learn any jutsu.'

 **"A wise choice, brat. Kumo is probably the second best with the sword. I would like to help you learn some taijutsu and maybe a few of my jutsu as well."**

'Well I suppose I should also try and study a bit more sealing and maybe even take a few missions on my travels. That way I can earn some money and keep my skills sharp.'

 **"Another bright idea. Honestly I don't understand why you always acted like you were dumb back in the academy."**

'I felt like then people would just give me some attention. I guess it worked too. I know that at least a few people are keeping me in their thoughts. For those people I hold no ill will. For the rest of Konoha though...'

 **"Yes you plan on showing them their mistake, right? Well, its no biju attack but that would definitely injure their reputation."**

'Good, I want them to regret their decision. I want them to suffer a loss. I want them to know how I felt as a child when everyone hated me, but that will have to wait. First I get power. Then I get even.'

 **"You should remember this moment. This will be the first step of your new life. Welcome to Kumo, brat."**

As Naruto looked around he noticed that he was receiving a completely different type of stare than usual. Instead of pure unfiltered hatred, these were stares of innocent curiosity he walked about carelessly he remembered his idea about disguising himself just in case. He searched around for a bit before finding a clothing store. He stepped in and began his search. First of all, no more orange. Sure it was the best color, but everyone he knew also knew him by it. This was a new life. Secondly, he would need some sort of mask to hide his face. So without further restrictions he perused the shop for a few outfits. He ended up with three outfits befitting a ninja.

The first consisted of a pair a black shinobi pants, black sandals, and a grey and black tight fitting shirt. The second was a deep blue shirt, pants and sandals. While the third was made up of a light brown set. He completed his shopping spree with a snowy white mask with a golden dragon design printed on it. It was perfect for what he needed. Now it was impossible for anyone to recognize him now. Now it was time to secure some temporary lodging and an audience with the Raikage. Naruto had passed an inn on the way to the store and had quickly made reservations via shadow clone while he shopped. All he needed to do was clean up and change before requesting to speak with the Raikage.

Choosing the blue outfit he had picked out earlier and donning his mask he set of towards the tower where his clone had spotted the man earlier that morning. That had to be the Raikage's tower. Now Naruto had to think of what to say. It couldn't be too difficult. Just ask for training. What could go wrong? Well besides getting a...

"No."

"O-oh, uhh, are you sure? I'd even be willing to take missions while I'm here."

"Sorry son, but we don't need any rejects here. If Konoha didn't want you neither do we."

"Hai. I suppose that makes sense. I apologize for the intrusion, Raikage-sama."

"Don't take it the wrong way, but you don't seem like someone worth the risk of enlisting."

With a silent nod and soft farewell he was off. Not before a maniacal grin spread over his face. Now it was time for plan B.

* * *

 **Two hours later**

Well, on the bright side Naruto had gotten out of Kumo without a scratch and got something out of it too. On the other hand he would be executed on sight if he ever came back.

Naruto had stolen several scrolls from the Raikage's library on his way out of the tower. Now he sat in a clearing reading one of them.

Taijutsu of Kumo #12: Hageshiku Hayaku. Much like the name suggests the point of the style was to go for strong quick combos. It was perfect for Naruto who was more inclined to swing wildly than conform to the academy style.

While Naruto practiced and studied the new moves he decided to use his clones as sparring partners. Some paired off to spar while some went through the katas. The style lacked completely in defense but hosted an overwhelming offensive nature.

Eventually Naruto would have to blend this with another style to balance them out, but having more than one hand to hand option would definitely help.

Naruto hadn't checked the other scrolls yet but knew that one was a kenjutsu scroll and the other three were on ninjutsu. Naruto left his clones to practise while he trained his fuinjutsu. Once a clone was popped its partner would wait for a spot to open and fill it.

This would go on for several hours before the sun began to set. Naruto retreated to a cave to take shelter and hide from any patrolling Kumo ninja. He lay silent inside with no fire. Soon he would be out of this country and would try the same strategy with the other villages. Maybe he should keep his past career hidden to avoid resorting to plan b and being put in their Bingo book.

As he stretched himself awake Naruto realized he'd been found. Though barely visible, a thin wire was stretched in front of the entrance. A clear sign someone was waiting for him to exit and fall into the trap. Naruto stepped out careful to not only miss the wire but make it look accidental.

Regardless of the wire not being tripped a barrage of kunai whistled towards him. Naruto poofed out of existence as a second wave of kunai was returned to the original source.

A slight cry of pain was the only guarantee that Naruto hit his target. Then he leaped towards the sound to tackle the enemy to find himself lying on... Temari?!

"What are you doing here? And why are you trying to kill me?"

"Most would normally attack a ninja with no head band and try to collect on their bounties. As for why I'm here that doesn't concern you."

"I'm not an enemy! Besides we know each other." Naruto yelled as he reached to remove his mask.

Temari's expression changed to one of embarrassment when she realized she had nearly killed her brothers friend and her one time care taker.

To be fair it wasn't her fault. She was just heading to Kumo for some political duties when she found what she thought was a missing nin. Then as Naruto started treating the small cuts from his counter attck she got curious.

"Hey wait... you were a Leaf shinobi last time we met. Where's your headband?"

A few moments passed as Naruto prepared his response. An audible gulp came from the blonde as he answered.

"Well... uh... it's a long story but basically I... uh... wasbanishedfromKonohaandallitsalliedterritories."

Temari was dumbfounded. The little she had caught at the end almost sounded like...

 **"WHAT?!"**

"Shhh! I was banished from Konoha. Then I sorta just stole a bunch of stuff from Kumo and now I'm on the run."

If she wasn't already Temari would be absolutely confused. When they last met Naruto was so happy and proud to be a ninja and now he had nothing. Somehow he still held that smile.

"That's it. Don't tell me anything else I don't want to know. I will be telling Gaara about this whenever I get back though."

"He's not still caught up with that whole 'violence is the answer to everything' thing, right?"

"As a matter of fact he isn't and I think that was your doing."

Now it was Naruto's turn to be confused. What had he done now?

"He tries to stay calm in every situation and whenever we talk about the fight you two had he gets this far away look in his eyes and smiles. SMILES. I haven't seen him do that once before you two met. On behalf of the people of Suna, thank you."

Naruto could only smile. After all he had just helped out one of his people. A person is a person no matter what kind of monster is sealed inside. And for the two of them that was quite literal.

"Well I have to get to Kumo, I hope you won't let something like a possible execution stop you from visiting us sometimes. I hope you can get strong enough to really show those Leaf assholes the consequences of their actions."

"Yeah let's hope so. I'll try to get to Suna one of these days, do me favor will ya? Keep it nice and pretty for me. I want to see the best you guys have to offer."

Temari nodded as she made her way to the mouth of the cave and turned to wave before setting out. Now Naruto could finally be on his way. And few minutes after Temari, Naruto was gone. Each traveled with a full mind and new determination.

* * *

 **Meanwhile at the Hokage Tower, Konoha.**

"Lady Hokage! Have a look at this. We just got an urgent message from Kumo. It seems that someone has stolen some of their secret technique scrolls. They say it was some ex-Konoha shinobi a blonde according to the Raikage. They want his information for their Bingo book."

Of course. Why would the little blonde bastard just roll on peacefully. With a deep sigh Tsunade read over the document just to be sure.

"Order a copy of all records relating to Naruto Uzumaki. It seems we may need to put him in our own bingo book soon. If he keeps it up he will definitely gain power, though not many friends... Get me Jirayia. Tell him it's about the kid. We may have a problem."

"Of course Hokage-sama, I will fetch him at once."

With that Shizune, Tsunade's assistant left the room in search of the white haired Sannin. He had some connection to the boy after all. He would be the quickest to track him down and deal with him however the Hokage saw fit. Now where could he be?

Oh, right. As Shizune went through the village she looked about at the shops and the happy faces, if you asked certain people in the village they'd say shit eating grins, among the crowds. Since the village's jinchuriki had been banished everyone seemed calmer. Some, like the Ichiraku's were deeply upset, while others, namely Jirayia and Kakashi, had recently been regulars at the noodle stand to reminisce about the little blonde menace's best pranks and raise their bowls in a toast to the boy wishing him a good life, though both desperately wished that he would become strong like his father and stick it to this whole damned village.

On this day though the old man was not present at the noodle stand. Which could only mean one of two things, Kakashi had left early today or was on a mission and Jirayia was at a bar drowning his sorrows. If Shizune was forced to guess, which technically she currently was, he would be at the strip club nestled deep in the heart of Konoha's red light district. Technically speaking the place had no name yet every male shinobi that lived past twenty one had been inside and on occasion their wives or girlfriends have come in to pull them out by their ears and give them a good tongue lashing... and not the good kind. So it was only natural that when no one could talk about his favorite topic with him he would drown his sorrows with cheap liquor and nude women. After all he was the number one super pervert of Konoha.

For the various onlookers the sight of the Hokage's young assistant pulling out the old pervert of Konoha was quite amusing, especially considering he was whining like a child about it. At least, until Naruto was mentioned then he sobered up and followed behind the girl to the Hokage's office. Within twenty minutes they were before Tsunade and he was briefed on the situation.

"I'll do it. I wanted to search for him anyways."

Tsunade was slightly surprised but hid very well as she spoke.

"Good then you will be leaving tomorrow morning. I wish you luck on your adventures. Oh, and Jirayia, I don't expect you to kill him. This is a warning, next time the Leaf village will not be so kind."

Jirayia nodded as he closed the gap between himself and the window.

"Let us pray there is no next time" he said.

And he leaped outside and ran towards his inn. Of course he personally was praying that whoever was foolish enough to attack him received due compensation for their troubles. Once he got to his room he packed then laid down for bed, thoughts about where his young pupil was and what he could be doing. Slowly but surely he passed into the embrace of slumber and all was still.

* * *

For Naruto, however, things were just getting interesting. First the run in with an old friend and now an escape from Kumo shinobi. Yeah maybe he should have expected this reaction. Oh well, they have to catch me first. As he ran Naruto was creating shadow clones and having them follow behind him a bit to distract the idiots chasing him while he ran faster and even placed a few traps. After half an hour of running several explosions could be heard in the area and no more chakra signatures could be felt by Naruto's weak albeit reliable sensor skills. He had apparently always had them, but with no formal training he didn't even realize that he was blessed with one of the most useful shinobi skills. With Kuruma's guidance he has made great strides.

As he went through the trees he heard the familiar voice of Kuruma come to his ears.

 **"So kit, how far do you really think you'll get with this little plan of yours. I mean I can read your mind ya' know. I know how you plan on settling down in Suna after all this. Makes sense to me, you're on good terms with the container of Shukaku and his family after all. Come to mention it, that little londe girl seems different right? I mean besides the whole embarrassed part she acts a bit more... friendly than before."**

'Don't even think it you nine tailed bastard. She does NOT like me, at least not like that. What are you laughing at? You're so bad with women they had to seal you inside of one just for you to get close to one.'

 **"Fair enough, but don't forget that the woman you speak of is your own dear mother."**

'Hey fuck you fox, don't insinuate things like that or I'll tighten your seal again.'

A deep laugh resonated through his mind as pictures of that damned fox quite violently laughing while rolling over in his cage. A scowl came to Naruto's face as he cursed any and all reincarnations of the man that saw fit to rip the ten tails into nine beings instead of a nice even eight. It was honestly starting to seem appealing to alter the seal to give Kuruma a small physical manifestation just to strangle every now and again. Maybe not enough to kill him but just like get the point across that he should stop talking.

 **"How many times do I have to tell you this, kit, I can see and hear your thoughts better than you can... I know you're about to ask what you were thinking about right now and the answer is asking me what you were thinking right now. You really don't understand this whole telekinesis thing do you? Oh for the love of Kami... It means we speak through thoughts and whatever you think I hear because I am inside of you."**

'You know if you're so smart how come you got stuck inside me, huh? Yeah check mate fox. You suck.'

Kuruma just sighed and released a picture to Naruto's mind. Suddenly Naruto turned a bright red and nearly collided with a tree mid jump.

'Why the FUCK did you just show me that? You really will be the death of me one day, you know.'

Kuruma was reduced back to just maniacal laughter as Naruto continued his barrage of insults and blushing.

The both of them would come to miss these moments. The simplicity of a manly bond. Sooner than they think they'll be in the permanent company of the opposite gender. The road ahead is long and winding, you never know where you'll end up. In some cases you think you do and then everything gets flipped on its head. How will Naruto's life turn out? How will it affect Kuruma? Who did he show to Naruto naked? How did he get that image in his mind? The answers may never be uncovered. Oh wait yeah they will, so what, we just wait for it? Well shit, this is gonna take a while isn't it? Probably, now strap in and get ready.

* * *

 **Omake:**

" Ah, you must be the delegate from Suna. I am the Raikage, may I ask your name?"

"Why of course Raikage-sama I am normally called Temari no Subaku, but you can call me Temari"

"I see, well Temari please excuse the mess, we've had an unfortunate accident recently and I have been nearly driven mad dealing with it."

"It is none of my business Raikage-sama, I am used to the sporadic nature of politics."

"Yes, well what business did Suna have to discuss with me? I have to get back to this matter with haste."

"Well, sir, we are on very unstable terms with Konoha at the moment. I have been tasked with bringing you a treaty to ally with your nation instead. We understand if you are concerned with the strength of our loyalty, but we are prepared to meet almost any conditions you can possibly set."

The Raikage nodded as he took the scroll from Temari's hands. He read over every detail very very carefully. Alliance treaties were not something to be taken lightly after all.

"No need for conditions, we accept your treaty's current composition and will be waiting for Suna to send the final draft. Now if you would please be so kind as to take your time in our city. As a show of good fortunate send me the bill for your stay. It would be best for you to stay until morning at least. We know it isn't safe for a female to travel alone at night."

Temari spent the night in Kumo despite knowing very well that the threat was oly Naruto and that he was as far from being a threat to women as possible, at east in the way the Raikage was implying.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Well there you go. Sorry to keep ya'll waiting but like I said school exists so I have to go to it. No promises to when the next chapter comes out. It could take a good while, I've been writing this one off and on since the last chapter went out. Still about 5k words ( including the ANs) I got the song idea from another fic I read. The name escapes me at the moment but if I can remember the story and writer I'll get back to you. If you ever look at a fic with thousands of words per chapter and think it looks easy enough to write good luck. This takes some determination fellas. Anyway please review it feel free to pm me if you have any other suggestions. Peace Out my dudes.

Hageshiku Hayaku- means hard and fast, I know it isn't very creative but you just hush your little head and enjoy.


	6. Notice

Unfortunately as everyone has noticed it has been a long time since I updated.For a while now my computer has been on the fritz. Recently I've been re-writing the five chapters prior to this notice and last night it finally happened. At the moment I'm using a friends to let you guys know, I still haven't given up but it may be a while till I get my new one so just hold on please. In the meantime I'm keeping notes to help the story run along. Sorry for the inconvenience. Keep on truckin and before you know it I'll be back.

Sincerely,

Me.


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